Reliance Jio has opened up its Jio Preview Offer (JPO) to most of the smartphones from brands such as Samsung, LG, Asus, Micromax and YU. But getting a free SIM card with free unlimited high-speed data for 90 days is getting harder than before. Hundreds of people are lining up outside Reliance Digital Stores, Xpress and Mini stores to get their free Jio SIM, but the increasing demand is creating a challenge for Reliance to keep up the supply.
At most of the Reliance Digital stores, where the Jio SIM cards are being issued for eligible smartphones for free, customers are being handed with tokens, but served with "no stock" notices.
We contacted two major Reliance Digital stores in Bengaluru's prime locations and they claimed that they have been using unique management tricks to balance the demand and supply.
Customers are asked to drop their name and contact number at the Reliance Digital stores and the store representatives are calling individuals when their number is up. The wait for Jio SIM is three to four days. The predicament is not over when you get a call from the Reliance store to collect the SIM as subscribers complain about delayed activation, which is leading up to five days.
Reliance Jio's customer care Twitter handle @JioCare has been trying to solve activation issues and is actively responding to the customers complaining about the same. Several users have blatantly opened up about the dreadful customer service experience.
Those who successfully activated their Jio SIM cards have nothing but great reviews about the internet service. The voice calls coverage is extremely poor, but Reliance is working to get the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COIA) on board with its testing. While details of Jio's commercial launch across India and its tariffs are in the dark, RIL's Annual General Meeting on September 1 is likely to shed more like on Jio's roadmap.
